They're My Family
by CatchingCraziness
Summary: Jenny Lewis wanted to live her life away from the ARC, but that doesn't mean she doesn't worry about the team she left behind. Especially when Lester rings to tell her that half of her family is missing.
1. Missing

**A/N: This was originally meant to be a One-Shot, but I'm afraid it developed a mind of its own. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 1: Missing**

Jenny's POV

I honestly hadn't expected to miss my job this much, but it wasn't really the work I wanted back, it was the ARC team; the people who'd quickly become like my family. Working in such a dangerous job and saving each others lives again and again created a sort of bond between us all and it was hard leaving it behind.

I'd had to leave though; I couldn't have stayed at the ARC once Cutter was gone. Everything there reminded me of him, I kept expecting him to walk through the doors and start lecturing us all about messing with time-lines.

I never did get to ask him for that drink. There was so much that I'd wanted to tell him. He was the person I missed most about my old job, but he left before I did and it was a stark reminder that working at the ARC could be deadly.

Nearly dying, because of a fungus no less, was the turning point for me; the only reason I'd stayed was because the team needed a leader and I was the only one suited for the job at the time. Then Danny Quin came along; charming, brave, handsome Danny who was so like and so different to Cutter.

I knew straight away that he was perfect for the job, but I tried to tell him to stay away anyway, warned him that this job could, and most likely would kill him. Of course, one thing Danny and Cutter had in common was their stubbornness and Danny just kept coming back. He got his wish and I gave him the team. I could tell he didn't want me to go, no one really did, but I needed to move on and grieve.

If I'd have stayed I don't know what would have happened, I know there was a small spark between Danny and I; he was funny, kind and a bit of a flirt. He was wonderful but I was broken. Maybe if we'd met months later and he had nothing to do with the ARC then he could have made me happy, but I'll never know and I find that I don't mind that too much.

Occasionally, I found myself thinking about how the team was doing; whether of not Lester had found someone else to talk to the press and make up cover stories. It was getting rarer that my thoughts turned towards the ARC and the anomalies, though sometimes I would be watching the news and try to guess which stories were cover ups for raging dinosaurs.

It had only been a few months since I'd left; I'd bought a new flat in a new town and was finally ready to move on with my life. I'd been on one successful date with a nice normal guy, and while I didn't think it would lead anywhere, it had been nice to get out again.

Unfortunately, all it took was a phone call to bring my life back to its former standstill. It was a normal Saturday night and I'd just sat down with a good book when the phone rang. I don't know who I expected it to be, but I certainly wasn't expecting to hear James Lester's voice on the other side of the phone.

"Lester?" I was sure that my voice portrayed my shock. "Why are you calling me?"

"Connor, Abby and Danny have been missing for months and have been declared dead. They went through a future anomaly after Helen and never came back. Sarah died during a rescue mission, Becker has quit and the whole ARC has been shut down while an investigation is taking place," there was silence while I tried to wrap my mind around what he said and Lester choked a little on the emotion that had shown in his voice.

"Why did you tell me that?" I asked hoarsely. I could feel myself getting angry but it was fighting with the grief that wanted to overwhelm me. "Why couldn't you just let me get on with my life thinking that everyone was fine?"

"I've just finished informing the other families and I thought you'd want to know," Lester paused for a second. "I'm going to ignore your anger because I know you would have been angrier if I hadn't told you."

We exchanged good-byes and hung up the phone. All of a sudden my book didn't seem to be as good or interesting and the last thing I wanted was to have a quiet night in. Not stopping to think about it, I grabbed my keys off of the table and left the flat and drove to the nearest bar.

The rest of the night passed in a blur and I still don't remember most of it, but I definatly remember waking up and feeling like there was a sledgehammer hitting the inside of my head.

The second thing I realized was that there were sounds coming from my kitchen. A feeling of dread settled in my stomach as I took a couple of aspirin and stumbled my way into the kitchen only to stop in shock.

A nice looking blonde haired man was busy making two cups of coffee; he was still wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and something about him seemed familiar. Squaring my shoulders, I stepped into the room and cleared my throat.

"I don't want to sound insulting," I began. "But who are you?"

The man let out a short laugh. "Well, to be honest that's just about the welcome I was expecting. I'm Michael Miller, I was in the bar last night when you decided to get drunk. At the end of the night I tried to chat you up and you started to cry. I brought you home and decided to make sure you were alright."

I felt a blush rising in my cheeks. "I'm so sorry about that, I must have been a right mess. I'm Jenny Lewis." I accepted the handshake and the coffee that he pushed into my hand.

"Well, Jenny, I do say that you owe me a drink. Do you fancy it?" He smiled at me and I found myself smiling back, even though I knew that I was about to turn him down.

"I would like to have a drink with you, but I can't, not yet. I just found out one of my friends is dead and that three others are missing in action and presumed dead. I need some time to grieve…again," I was grateful that he didn't comment on the 'again' and instead just wrote down his number on a piece of paper.

"Give me a call when you're ready for that drink," he nodded to me and then left leaving me alone and giving me the room I needed to break down and rebuild myself.

I felt like every time I'd finished mourning something else would come along and restart the cycle. It took me a few months before I thought about Michael again, but I knew it had been too long to actually call him; he most likely had a girlfriend now and wouldn't want to meet up with a girl that he'd only met once and just cried on him for a night.

I did go back to the bar though, just to see if he was there, because I knew that if I didn't that I would regret it. And there he was, playing the guitar up on stage with the band and I smiled at him when he noticed me.

We got a drink together at the end of the night and promised to meet up again. It was the first night that I didn't think of my lost friends or old life. Michael helped me forget everything else and just live in the moment.

He moved in with me two months later and was with me when my life changed again as my past was brought back into the present.


	2. Returned

**A/N: Part two! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 2: Returned**

Jenny's POV

Michael assumed that I had friends who'd joined the army and that that was who I'd been talking about when I mentioned that three of my friends were missing in action and the other one was dead. I didn't want to lie to him but I knew I couldn't tell him the truth either, so I let him believe that what he thought was true.

I never mentioned Connor, Abby and Danny's names; I wanted to make sure that if I ever saw them again when Michael was around that he wouldn't know they were my 'lost' friends because neither Connor nor Abby looked like they could be in the army and I knew Danny wouldn't go along with a lie like that.

It was silly, acting like I was going to see them again, but I couldn't stop myself. The worst thing about them being missing was that I didn't know if they were dead or not. It sounds awful to say, but at least if they were dead I could mourn them and move on.

I hated the feeling of not knowing. Every time I thought of them I just wanted to charge through the first anomaly and try to rescue them.

Michael asked me to marry him. I didn't even need a second to think before saying yes; I loved him. We couldn't set a date though; Michael kept bringing up several options and I'd find a fault with all of them.

In the end he confronted me about it and I admitted that I was still hoping my friends would be found. I told him that I knew it had been nearly a year and that I probably wouldn't even invite them to the wedding, but it didn't feel right getting married when they could be out there somewhere in trouble.

Michael said he understood and he didn't bring it up again. Whenever someone asked about when the date was we'd just tell them that we hadn't decided yet. I felt incredibly guilty about putting the wedding off, but at the same time I felt relieved that Michael hadn't pressured me into choosing a date.

I could tell his friends were getting annoyed; they thought that I was just stringing him along because I couldn't pick a date. Michael finally told them the real reason after they'd asked why he was letting me use him. They were a lot more understanding after that.

I'd almost stopped expecting to hear anything when my phone finally rang while I was watching a film with Michael in our living room. The number was blocked and I had a feeling that it was going to be the ARC. I excused myself from the room and went into the bedroom, shutting the door behind me.

"Hello?" My voice shook slightly as I sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Miss Lewis?" A bubbly female voice answered and I felt my hope begin to dwindle. "This is Jess Parker; I'm the field coordinator for the ARC."

"Is Lester there?" I asked immediately. The woman sounded nice but I wanted to hear the news, good or bad, from somebody I knew and trusted.

"I'll just put him on for you," the phone clicked and I realized that the woman had put the phone onto another line.

"Jenny?" Lester's voice was a relief to hear.

"Lester," I took a deep breath. "Has there been any news?"

"Connor and Abby are back," I could hear the relief and happiness in his voice that he was probably trying so hard to hide. "There's been no news of Danny though."

He explained about how they'd gone to stop Helen from killing the first humans but had gotten split up when Connor got injured. Danny must have succeeded in his mission, otherwise we wouldn't be here, but no one knows what happened to him after that.

"But Connor and Abby are okay?" I had to ask and make sure. My heart was pounding quickly and I held my breath.

"They're fine," Lester reassured me. "Though it does seem like a year alone with each other has done some good."

I blinked in confusion for a second before realizing what he meant. "They're together now?"

"Indeed. I'm personally betting it was Miss Maitland that's responsible for that," Lester sounded almost amused.

"Probably," I agreed. "You'll tell me if you hear anything about Danny?"

"I will," he promised. "Goodbye Jenny."

We hung up and I sat still for a second as I waited for it to hit me. As soon as it did, I unlocked the bedroom door and went back into the living room. Michael took one look at me and jumped off of the couch to meet me halfway.

"What's wrong?" He demanded, reaching up and wiping tears off of my cheeks. I hadn't even realized I was crying until then.

"They're back," I gasped about. "Two of my friends have been found."

"You mean the friends that were missing in action?" He grinned when I nodded. "That's good news then, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's great news," I buried my head into his shoulder. "They're back. They're safe. There's only Danny who's missing now."

Knowing that he wanted details, I told him that they'd been on a mission but that two of them had gotten split up from Danny; the team leader. Even in my giddy relief, I knew not to mention Connor or Abby's names. It was too late to not mention Danny, but it was less likely that Michael was going to meet him than the chance that he'd meet Abby and Connor.

It was easier to choose a date once I knew that Connor and Abby were safe. We still put it off for a few weeks just in case Danny turned up, but in the end we settled on a date and sent out the invitations at last.

Just like I'd told Michael, I didn't invite Abby or Connor to the wedding. It confused Michael and his friends that I'd put my wedding off until my friends were safe and then didn't even invite them. I'd wanted to keep my past and present lives separate, so no matter how much I wanted my ARC family there, I knew it was better to not get in touch with them.

As it turned out though, I didn't need to invite them. They turned up anyway and my two lives hit each other head on. Michael was happy enough to meet my family once I'd explained things and we still managed to get married once the chaos was over.


	3. Revisited

**A/N: Part three! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 3: Revisited**

Jenny's POV

I'd only just returned from my honeymoon when I got another phone call. This time, when I glanced down at my phone and saw the blocked number, I didn't leave the room; I just glanced at Michael and smiled at him.

If he saw the apprehension in my eyes he didn't say anything, just taking my hand and squeezing it. During the honeymoon I'd explained everything; all about my past life and the things I've done, I told him about Cutter and how I might have once been someone called Claudia Brown.

He said that he understood why I hadn't told him because if he hadn't seen it for himself then he'd never have believed me. I told him about all the anomalies I'd seen and all creatures I'd faced. He was horrified when he heard about all the different times I could have died.

This time I didn't get a happy greeting from the young field coordinator Jess who'd watched my wedding from ARC while Lester preformed the ceremony. Lester was the one who called me, probably straight from his office, and we didn't exchange pleasantries before he told me the news.

"Danny came back," Lester sounded tired. "He finally got back home and then he turned around and went back."

I listened in stunned disbelief as Lester told me about how Danny had finally come through an anomaly in front of the ARC team, causing Matt to shoot him because he had been expecting a killer bird.

That should have been the end of it, but Danny's brother; Patrick, or Ethan, or whatever he was really called, was involved. He'd apparently gone mad in his years alone behind the anomalies until he wasn't safe to be around humans. He'd gone back through an anomaly and Danny had followed him to try and prevent him from harming anyone else.

"Was he okay though?" I asked cautiously. "He wasn't injured or anything?"

"No, he was fine," Lester paused. "Seemed to have an obsession with a stick that he named Molly though. Maybe it's a sign of a mental break."

"Be nice," I chastised him absently.

"Goodbye, Jenny," I could practically hear him rolling his eyes.

"Keep me informed," I said before he could hang up.

"Of course," he sighed. "What else would I do with my time?"

The phone clicked off and I put it back down with a smile. I'd have preferred it if Danny had been safe and back in present time rather than a few million years in the past with his homicidal brother but Danny was always a risk taker. I was sure that he'd be fine and would be back one day.

"What was that about?" Michael asked. "Was it the ARC?"

"Danny came back," I smiled. "And then he left straight away on another mission."

"You don't sound too upset," he turned to look at me.

I shook my head. "Danny was always a risk taker. I knew that even if he came back he would put himself back in danger."  
Michael looked a bit confused, but he didn't say anything. I smiled and glanced at my silent phone; everything seemed better with the relief of knowing that all of my family was safe.

Of course it was less than a month later that everything went wrong and my past put me in more danger than ever before and Michael was caught in the middle.


	4. Helping

**A/N: The fourth and final part! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 4: Helping**

Jenny's POV

It didn't matter what TV channel I put on, they were all running the same story about the T-rex that was running rampant around the city. It wasn't even the only problem; anomalies were popping up everywhere and every time there was an anomaly there was a creature incursion to go along with it.

I knew that Connor, Abby, Becker and the other members of the new core team would be working to stop whatever was causing all the anomalies, but I also knew that while they were doing that, the rest of the ARC soldiers would be dealing with the creatures and that they needed all the help they could get.

Michael looked a little panicked, but he sent me a reassuring smile and passed me my phone without comment. He knew what I was going to do and he wasn't going to try stopping me.

"Lester," I kept the surprise that he'd answered the phone personally out of my voice as I spoke.

"Jenny, can't chat I'm afraid," I could hear the sound of someone speaking over a speaker in the background. "It's a bit busy here"

"I want to help," I told him calmly, waiting for his reaction.

"I'm not aloud to involve public citizens, sorry," he was obviously walking while speaking because I could hear his footsteps and the ground.

"James Lester," I made my voice commanding. "I used to be the leader of the ARC team. I'm not just some public citizen that's never had to deal with this before; I probably have more experience with anomalies than most of your current staff. You can either send me a team or I'll do it alone."

There was silence on the other side of the phone for a few seconds and his footsteps had stopped. Finally, after what felt like ages, he started moving again. "I'll have Jess send you a team and a comm. link. Do be careful, the minister will have my head if I involve a citizen and then they die. I'd never get a knight ship."

The phone clicked off and a few minuets later a black jeep pulled up outside. An ARC soldier dressed in the normal black uniform climber out and handed me a comm. link. I nodded to the man and placed it in my ear, ignoring Michael for a second while I listened to Jess.

"Right Team Lewis," Jess sounded stressed and serious as she rattled off coordinates to our team and what creatures she thought we might have to deal with. The soldier handed me a gun which I accepted and then waited for my command. They may never have met me before but they'd heard of me and Lester had put me in charge of this team.

"You should stay in the house," I told Michael, knowing that he was going to argue. "An anomaly could appear inside but it's less likely than the chances of one appearing outside."  
"I'm going with you," he said stubbornly.

"No, you're not," I smiled gently at him. "It's a lovely gesture, but you don't have any experience with this sort of thing and you would freak out. I would only be worried about you and not my job. Best if you do as I say and stay at home."

Before he could argue anymore I turned on my heel and got into the jeep. The ARC team wouldn't have believed their eyes if they'd seen me; dressed in jeans, a t-shirt and trainers. It was a far cry from my office suits and heels but I didn't know what I was going to be facing and I knew I would probably need to run.

My team dealt with three anomalies before they just seemed to disappear. No one could tell me if it was a good or bad thing that they were gone. Jess hadn't heard anything from Matt's team but she told me that all the anomalies all over the world were closing.

While I tried to convince the awful feeling in my gut that it was a good thing they were closing, the sky began to change colour. First it turned green and then it began to look like a cloudy day, but the cloud had big holes missing. I felt tremors in the earth under my feet and my bad feeling got worse. All that put together decided it for me; the anomalies disappearing was bad news.

And then that stopped as well. Jess gave everyone the all clear and told us that Matt's team had succeeded in their mission. She didn't know if there would ever be another anomaly again but for now everyone was safe.

The soldier dropped me off back home and I handed over my gun and comm. link without regret. I'd missed my job, but I no longer wished for the chance to work at the ARC again. I'd never really forgotten the risks but after dealing with so many creatures in one day the danger felt a lot more real.

I expected Michael to be angry at me, so I was surprised when he grabbed me and hugged me tightly as soon as I walked through the front door. He noticed when I winced and released me immediately, sitting me down on the couch and fetching the first aid kit.

"It's nothing," I murmured, unravelling the piece of torn t-shirt I'd used as a make-shift bandage. "One of the raptors got a lucky hit when I wasn't looking."

Michael made choking noise. "A raptor? What else did you deal with?"

"Raptors, sabre-tooth tiger and some sort of gremlin creature from the future," I listed off, wincing as Michael sprayed anti-septic onto the scratch on my arm.

"I was so worried about you," Michael told me once he'd re-bandaged my arm. "I kept imagining the worst happening. Please don't do that again."

"I won't," I couldn't promise but I told him that I didn't want to do my old job again. "The anomalies might have stopped for good now anyway."

That illusion was broken the next morning by the news report of a train vanishing at Kings Cross station. The anomalies may not have stopped, but I wasn't interested in rejoining the ARC. I was perfectly happy with my boring job and wonderful husband. I would always worry about the ARC team and I knew Lester would keep me informed if anything happened to them.

They're my family after all.


End file.
